When Google releases a new flagship Pixel device, it has always launched with the newest version of the Android OS. This made sense because Pixel phones launched in the later part of the calendar year, with the public release of new Android versions around the August-September window. Throughout the history of Pixel this timeline hasn’t always been the case, but in recent history, Google has been rather consistent.
With that said, Google is releasing the Pixel 9 lineup ahead of this perceived schedule in 2024, with announcement set for August 13 and availability assumed to be shortly after that. It’s possibly due to this bump in timing that it’s now being reported that the Pixel 9 lineup will ship with Android 14 out of the box and not Android 15, which is a first for Google.
Now, just because these phones will ship with Android 14, doesn’t mean users will be on that software for long. We’d expect Google to have a timely update to Android 15 soon after release, but this move does change our overall software expectations for new releases moving forward. End of the day, Pixel owners will still get their 7 years of updates and will be enjoying Android 15 soon enough.
Another thing we expect: People who complain, saying that Android 15 isn’t that interesting are the same people who will be upset that the new Pixel launches with old software. Ugh.